Financial News and Portfolio Management Discussion through May 27th

All the news you need to stay informed about what’s currently driving the market – courtesy of Raffa Wealth Management, LLC.

US stocks ended the week at fresh all time highs driven by the Fed meeting minutes and strong corporate earnings. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% and the Dow gained 1.3% for the week.  Internationally, Japan was up 0.5% and Europe was flat for the week.  The yield on the 10 year Treasury bond was flat for the week ending at 2.25%.  Oil prices fell 1.7% over the week on disappointment from the results of the OPEC meeting.

China’s credit rating was downgraded by Moody’s who cited concerns over the countries financial strength over the coming years. It downgraded it from Aa3 to A1.  Article

Minutes from the Fed’s May meeting were released and showed that the Fed felt it would “soon be appropriate” to raise short term interest rates. The statement confirmed investors’ expectations that an interest rate increase at the June meeting was on the table.  Article

US GDP rose 1.2% in the first quarter. It was revised up from the 0.7% originally estimated.

Huntsman Corp and Clariant are close to an agreement to merge that would create a chemicals giant worth approximately $14 billion.

Jim Hackett was tapped to replace Mark fields as CEO of Ford.

Earnings in the first quarter grew at the fastest pace in six years. Earnings of firms in the S&P 500 grew 13.6% from the year earlier period.

 

 

About

Raffa Wealth Management is an independent investment advisor providing nonprofit organizations, high net-worth investors, and qualified retirement plans with a full range of investment consulting services.  We were established to fill the need for transparency, clarity, and vision in the professional management of investment assets.   Visit us at www.raffawealth.com

There is no guarantee that any investment strategy, including those described here, will be successful. Any investment or investment strategy can lose money. Past performance does not guarantee or predict future results. You should not assume that any discussion or information contained herein serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Raffa Wealth Management, LLC. This information was gathered from reliable sources, but we cannot guarantee accuracy. Indexes do not reflect the fees associated with actual investments and such fees would reduce the performance illustrated. Source: FMG Suite, LLC.
Bookmark this page